


The Handyman

by KristannaFever



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/M, Kristanna, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-31
Updated: 2018-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:41:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21622393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KristannaFever/pseuds/KristannaFever
Summary: written for @lukin08 on tumblr
Relationships: Anna & Kristoff (Disney), Anna/Kristoff (Disney)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 25





	The Handyman

Anna caught the flash of white from the corner of her eye just as she was turning to shut the door. As if she wasn’t late enough for her meeting, now she was going to have to run after Olaf.

“Darn that cat!” She grumbled, dropping her bag and her purse on the steps and taking off after the adventurous feline. She spotted him walking through the short hedges to the neighbor’s front yard, and Anna went for the sidewalk, going around and finding him trotting towards the walkway.

Where a man was troweling freshly poured concrete.

Anna panicked, talking off in a sprint towards Olaf just as he stepped onto the walk. Her heart sunk to see his dainty little footprints behind him as he turned to saunter towards the house, and not simply across to the other side of the grass. His choice left tiny paw indentations almost all the way up the entire pathway.

“Olaf!” Anna scolded, still scrambling to grab the cat.

The blond man who was bent over, smoothing out the last section of the walk turned at the commotion. At first his eyes only looked curiously at the cat, and then his gaze travelled behind him to all the marks in the wet concrete. Anna watched the man’s mouth pop open in disappointment, almost disbelief, then his brow quickly wrinkled with anger just as Anna caught Olaf under his belly and hoisted the squirming cat in her arms.

“I’m so sorry!” She started, watching as the man took to his feet. From his position on his knees, hunched over with the trowel she hadn’t noticed how tall he was. As soon as he approached her, Anna had to fight the impulse to shrink away from his impressive stature.

“Do you know, how that is going to take to fix,” he stammered, looking down at the concrete with a frown.

“I’m sorry,” Anna repeated, “Really I am, so sorry, and I would stay and help you fix it, but I am already late for an important meeting and I didn’t mean to let him out. He does this sometimes. It’s like he knows when I’m distracted and not paying attention. Last time he completely ran away from me and I didn’t see him for two days! He’s a bit of an adventurer. I suppose I should-“

The blond was waving his arms as he sighed. “I have to try and fix this before it sets,” he grumbled with a scowl and turned to drop to his knees where Olaf had first hopped onto the walk.

Anna hesitated, feeling bad but not sure what else to say or do. She turned and stalked back to her own house, taking Olaf in and straight to the sink. The cat mewled loudly at being put under the water.

“Serves you right, you brat,” Anna said, scrubbing the grey out of his white fir. When he was clean she placed him on the floor and he scrambled to the living room to hide under the couch.

Anna quickly went back to gather her things to get going to her meeting. She glanced at her watch as she clambered behind the wheel of her car. “Crap,” she whispered. “Elsa isn’t going to like this.”

*****

As soon as Anna pulled up on the street in front of her house, she chided herself on forgetting the mornings incident with Olaf. She had every intention of buying the blond man a peace offering for making more work for him, but it had completely slipped her mind to stop at the store on her way home.

Not that she knew what she was going to get him anyway. Pack of beer maybe? Gift certificate? What do you get the man, who had been inconvenienced by your cat?

It didn’t matter anyway. Anna looked into her neighbor’s yard as she pulled up in front of her house and the walkway was smooth once again and the blond man, and his truck, were nowhere in sight.

Anna dumped all her things on the floor when she got into the house. Olaf was sitting on the arm of the couch watching her, innocent, as if nothing had happened earlier.

“You’re still a brat,” Anna said to him, and walked into the kitchen to make herself dinner.

*****

Anna was startled awake by a very loud and grating sound. It took her a minute to place it, but she understood after a minute, that it was nails being hammered into wood, and it was coming from her open window. She rolled over and looked at her clock, shocked to see that it was only ten to eight in the morning.

“What the hell?” she groaned, pulling the pillow over her head. It was no use. The sound was getting through and she knew there would be no more sleep for her. “Who starts this early?” she sighed, swinging her legs out of bed and getting up slowly.

She shuffled over to the window and looked down. The blond was in her neighbors back yard today, swinging a hammer into large wooden beams. She didn’t care what he was making, she cared only that it was early, and that he should have some decency to respect the people that lived nearby who wanted nothing but a little bit of sleep. 

What was the rules on that anyway? Surely it was ten or something before loud noises and construction were allowed. Not that she was going to do anything about it after the stunt that Olaf had pulled yesterday. She shut her window, despite the fact that the morning was already getting hot, before crawling back into bed in a last-ditch attempt to get back to sleep.

After ten minutes of listening to faint hammering, Anna gave up and went downstairs to make herself some much needed coffee. She grabbed her phone while it brewed and looked up the noise bylaw rules, surprised to discover that it was indeed eight a.m. and not ten as she had thought. She supposed that made sense. The world did not function around late risers.

*****

Anna was woken again by the hammering the next morning. She glanced over at her clock, frustrated. It read ten to eight. 

She gritted her teeth. It might have been fine had it not been a Saturday, but it was, and she had desperately wanted to sleep in after having a late, cocktail laden, work-dinner the night before. She was looking at 5 hours of sleep and a pounding head, and he was down there pounding nails into wood.

She threw back the covers and stomped over the window, prepared to slam it shut, but she could not help herself. “It’s Saturday you know! Some of us like to sleep in on our days off.”

He paused, hammer raised above his head before bringing it down slowly and looking over to Anna’s house. He spotted her in the window after a second, and offered her a frown. “Look, I’m just doing my job,” he said loud enough that he would be heard.

“So what, you don’t take weekends off?” She fought the urge to sneer at him.

“Not when the customer wants it done as soon as possible.”

“They’re not even here! They’re in Italy for the next two weeks.”

“Yeah, and they want their yard done by the time they get back. I’m already behind because of your cat,” he growled. 

He turned before Anna could respond and resumed hammering nails into the wood.

Anna sighed, knowing she had no right to demand him to stop. She slid the window shut quietly, looking at the structure he was building for the very first time. It looked to be a small gazebo, and Anna suddenly remembered her neighbors mentioning that their daughter was going to get married to her Italian fiancé in their back yard when they got back from visiting his family. 

She made herself a coffee and started in on the new book she was reading. It didn’t take long before she was yawning, and even though she could still hear the endless pounding of the hammer, she fell asleep on the couch.

*****

All week long, Anna watched all the blond man’s work take shape in her neighbor’s yard. He was finished with the gorgeous gazebo, and currently working on something in the corner of the lot. It looked to be a pond or some sort. 

Anna had always wanted a pond in her back yard.

She surveyed her own lawn from the second floor of her house, and next to the work her neighbor was having done, it looked incredibly plain. Almost sad. The only item was a small shed for gardening tools (that remained unused) and a bench swing that she had bought so that she could read outside on warm days. But it was old, and had seen better days. The fabric was sun-faded and the plastic was weathered, and just last year she had to knock a wasp’s nest from under the canvas top. That had not been fun.

She watched as the handyman (or so it said on the side of his truck), picked up a large rock and placed it on top of the small wall he was building to hold water. His white t-shirt was drenched with sweat, and Anna could easily make out the taunt curve of his biceps, and the rippling muscles of his back as he worked. That was the other thing she liked about checking on his progress, and she was never so happy that she had all week to do her work from home.

Anna finished her coffee and went to her office. The window faced the street, and although she had a half a mind to move her desk to her own room for the next week, she knew she’d probably not get any work done that way.

All week she’d been getting more used to rising early, and she was amazed by how much more productive she was when she did so. It gave her plenty of time in the evening to read and watch television. She would have gone out and enjoyed the setting sun in her bench swing had they not suddenly found themselves in a heat wave. All week long the temperatures were getting higher, and tomorrow they were projected to shatter the record.

She went to bed that night, more than glad she had AC.

*****

Anna walked into her room to grab some editing notes she had been going over in bed the night before, when she caught sight of the Handyman. Her step faltered at realizing that he’d shucked off his shirt and was standing there all thick and broad chested, and decorated with delightfully rounded muscles. Anna pinched her lip in her teeth and took a step closer to the window to admire him a bit. 

He seemed to heave out a heavy breath as she watched, and lifted a big forearm across his brow to wipe the sweat. He was absolutely dripping with perspiration, and Anna noticed the faintest of wobble to his stance. There were no trees for shade in either of their yards, and she knew her neighbors had most likely not left him a key for their house. The poor fellow looked on the verge of heat stroke.

Anna dashed downstairs and out her back door, surprised by the wall of heat she walked into as soon as she stepped outside. She grabbed the milk crate she kept beside her back deck for when she talked to her neighbors and plopped it down in the grass before she peaked her head just over the fence.

“Hey,” she said.

He startled, and whipped around so fast he nearly lost his balance, but he regained his composure quickly. His cheeks were a deep pink and his chest heaved slowly like he was short of breath.

“Why don’t you come over and cool down a bit,” she offered.

“I’m fine,” he mumbled, but Anna could see in his eyes that even he didn’t believe that.

“You look like you’re going to pass out. Just come over for some water and sit in the AC a bit. I don’t want to have to call an ambulance because you’re a stubborn ass.”

He heaved out a single breathless _ha_ , and nodded gratefully.

Anna went inside and unlocked the front door, opening it when she heard his footfalls approach. He had pulled his damp t-shirt back on and it clung to every contour of his torso. Anna gulped as she shut the door behind them, making sure to remind herself that his eyes were on his face.

He sighed, long and slow at being in the cool air, standing just inside her entrance.

“Come on,” she shook her head. “Kitchen is this way.”

He followed without a word and took the offered seat at her kitchen table with another delighted sigh. Anna filled a large cup with ice and water and placed it in front of him before she fetched her pitcher. She dumped the rest of the ice in and filled it to the brim, not at all surprised that when she returned to the table his glass was empty. She filled it as he watched her silently, and then poured her own glass.

“Thank you,” he said quietly, sipping on the water.

“Well, it’s the least I could do after Olaf walked through your concrete work last week.”

He smiled at that, and Anna realized just how much she liked the look on him. He took another large gulp of water. “Definitely didn’t have enough water today. I feel better already.”

“So, you forgot we’re in the middle of the worst heat wave in recorded history, or what?”

He chuckled. “Nope. I packed myself a giant jug of ice water this morning.”

“And?” Anna gave him a knowing smile.

“And,” he shook his head and rolled his eyes at himself, “I can tell you exactly where I left it before I came to work this morning.”

“Let me guess, kitchen counter?”

“Nope, but that’s a good one. Left many lunches there.”

“By your front door? That’s where I like to set things down and forget about them.”

“Another good one, but no. That baby is sitting on top of the freezer in my garage, because I put it down to grab a couple tools and completely forgot to go back and get it.”

Anna laughed. “That sound like something _I_ would do.”

He smiled at her again, and Anna realized how tingly it made her feel. That, and with him so up close and personal, she could finally see how warm his brown eyes really were. 

“So, what’s your name, Handyman?”

“Kristoff,” he offered. “And yours?”

“Anna.”

“Well, Anna, I appreciate you letting me cool off and get some water,” he reached over and filled his glass with the pitcher again. “All I had was the little bottle I have in my lunch bag, and in this heat, that was certainly not enough to cut it. I was just about to hop in my truck and head to a gas station when you invited me over. Probably a good thing I didn’t drive. I was a bit dizzy. The heat kind of snuck up on me.”

“I could tell.”

He nodded slowly, breaking her gaze with nervous embarrassment in his eyes, which began to dart quickly around her kitchen.

“You work very hard,” Anna said, reeling him back. “That’s an incredible amount of stuff you’ve been doing over there this past week and a half.”

His cheeks, that had returned to their more normal hue in the cool air of the house, flushed pink. “Thanks.”

“So, do you have another job lined up after this one?” Anna asked, thinking about her stark yard space.

“Uh, not exactly,” he rubbed the back of his neck. “I have a customer who’s giving me a hard time about my prices and hasn’t agreed to sign a contract. I have a feeling he’s just trying to lowball me, but I don’t want to write him off just yet since I don’t have anything else at the moment.”

“I’ve got work you could do,” Anna smiled, making up her mind that she wanted to do something nice with her backyard space.

“You do, do you?” He said, rubbing his hand down his jaw and chin with a ghost of a smile on his lips.

“Yeah. I saw that pond you’re almost done over there. I’ve always wanted a pond.”

“They are nice,” he said eyeing her closely. “How about a custom-built bench swing too?”

“You do that? Well, I mean, I guess if you can build an entire gazebo you can do that, but wow, that’s an awesome idea.”

“Yours looks in need of replacing.”

“You are right about that,” she mused. “What else do you think my space could use?”

“I know a tree guy, if you’re into that kind of thing. Have a space to relax in the shade in your swing on hot days?”

Anna’s eyes widened. She’d always loved the idea of planting tree’s in her yard, but the last time she had looked, the bigger ones (not the scrawny ones that she was too impatient to wait for to grow), were very expensive, and she never felt justified to spend so much on something like trees.

“The large one’s can get pricy,” she said.

“I can get you a great deal,” he raised his eyebrows in emphasis.

It was enticing to say the least. The offer of a great deal and the fact that it would mean that Kristoff was going to stick around her vicinity for a while longer. “Well then, you’re hired.”

He chuckled. “Don’t you want to hear my rates first?”

“Ha,” Anna scoffed. “My neighbors are the cheapest people I know. If they hired you, you must have a good rate.”

He laughed. “Ok then, you think about what you want to get done, and I’ll work on the quote for you so there are no surprises.”

“Excellent. So, when are you wrapped up over there?”

“Should be done by Saturday. I can start here Sunday if you like. I know how much you love getting up early on weekends,” he grinned.

“You know what, start on Monday. You could use a day off,” she grinned back.

*****

Bright an early Monday morning, Kristoff was knocking on her door. The weather had cooled for the moment, and in the chilly morning he was wrapped in a worn-in red/black flannel coat, looking all manly and stuff with his tool bag in his hand.

He promptly lost the coat as soon as the sun was a quarter the way up the sky, and Anna marvelled at him in his tight, crisp and clean, white work shirt. She watched him surreptitiously from the kitchen window, cleaning already clean dishes, as he hauled large timbres for the frame of the swing he was going to build for her. It would be stationary, he explained, but his vision of surrounding the area with tall trees and building her a firepit in addition to the pond, was too wonderful to pass up. He’d made her a quick sketch, and she was more than excited to let him run away with his creative vision. He’d even talked her into doing a fountain pond instead of one she could put fish in, and she had to agree that between Olaf’s curious nature and the fact that fish would be more work, it was a great idea. That, and she liked it when he described reading in her back yard with the calming sounds of babbling water in the background.

Her neighbors, the Keats, had knocked on her door just when Kristoff was getting started digging the holes for the swing frame foundation, and asked if it would be okay to talk with their handyman. Anna was more than happy to oblige, and warmly invited them in, but she was a little curious as to what they wanted to talk to him about. Was there an issue with something? Was what he did, not the design they had wanted?

She had no idea what was going to be said until she opened her screen door and Kristoff looked up when Mrs. Keats started to babble and get weepy about his beautiful work. She walked right up and gave Kristoff a hug, and Anna had to stifle a laugh at the surprised and embarrassed expression on Kristoff’s face. Clearly, he was not used to being hugged.

The Keats sang their praises for a good twenty minutes as Anna listened through the open screen door. It made her feel all the better about hiring Kristoff to do her yard. She felt good inside, to know that his work was appreciated, because goodness knows it was done with a level of perfection that she had not seen from anyone since her father. Even through the upstairs window of her bedroom, she could see the quality of his craftsmanship.

The Keats stayed for a coffee and let Kristoff get back to work and all they did was tell Anna about how happy they were with their yard. Anna stole as many glances towards him as she could while they talked. Mrs. Keats finished the conversation by outlining the happy plans for their daughters wedding the next weekend, and asked Anna if she would like to come.

“Oh, that’s okay Mrs. Keats. I understand if you only have enough room for-“

“That young man agreed to our invitation,” Mrs. Keats said with a nod of her head to Kristoff outside and a knowing glint in her eye. “Perhaps, you two could sit together, since he won’t know anyone else?”

Anna could not help herself but blush. Apparently, it was not all that hard to tell that she had developed a serious crush on Kristoff. “Alright, that sounds like fun Mrs. Keats, and please, if I can do anything to help out beforehand, let me know.”

“Appreciate it dear,” she smiled, and they took their leave.

Anna went back to the sink and leaned over the counter, staring blatantly out the window as Kristoff shoveled earth from the ground. What was she going to do with him? She knew she was going to have to pipe up about her affections sooner or later.

She thought on it as she watched transfixed with the way his body muscles flexed and tensed with each scoop of the shovel. It was a thing of beauty to watch a strong man hard at work, she had always thought so, and Kristoff was certainly the best example of that she’d ever seen.

As if he could feel her stare he paused, his eyes coming up and connecting with hers. He offered her an instant smile, and Anna had butterflies in her stomach and a smile in return. 

*****

Kristoff stood looking over Anna’s yard, pleased with the trees that had been delivered and planted. His friend Sven had come through, as always, and brought over the nicest pair of young elms and willows he’d seen in a long time. 

He could not wait for Anna to get back from her work meetings to see the progress. When she had left in the morning, the only thing that stood finished in the yard was the swing, and she had fawned enough over that. He hoped that with the trees, and the outlines he had done in the grass with spray paint for the fountain in the corner and the firepit in the centre of her yard, that she would see what he saw when he looked at the space.

He kneeled back down and continued to place the patio stones around the fire pit. He was just about done when he heard a gasp from the direction of the house.

Anna’s eyes were wide with surprise and excitement, her hands clasped over her mouth. He was downright delighted by her reaction, and it gave him a fluttery feeling in his stomach to see her so happy. He stood up as she approached.

“This… _this is_ _gorgeous_ Kristoff!”

“And it’s not even done yet,” he smiled, trying to fight the heat that took to his cheeks at her praise.

“It’s… just wow. Wow! Look at this! Look, look at the way the willows compliment the water feature! And, oh my gosh, those elms! They are going to be the perfect shade for the swing!” she pointed just behind where Kristoff was standing. “And that’s the fire pit? I love it! That is the perfect amount of space around it so that we can move the lawn chairs back if it gets too hot.”

Kristoff was distracted by what she had said as she babbled on about his work. First of all was the way she was using his terminology, like _water feature_ , and second, more importantly, was that she said _we._ Did that mean we in the sense of her and her family and friends, or we in the sense that she was thinking about him and her.

He was fully aware that he and Anna were becoming fast friends, and he’d caught her eye enough times to think it might be a romantic gaze, but he remained pensive from past experiences with women taking advantage of his giving, hard-working nature with false affections. He knew Anna wasn’t like that, but he still feared finding out that she had no romantic interest in him at all.

He realized that Anna had become constant on his mind, and he thought of little else. Her blue eyes, her copper braids, her rosy, freckled cheeks, were all he saw when he closed his eyes, especially when he was alone at night.

Truth was, he was falling in love with her. He knew it, just as he knew when the job was over he was going to have to say something about it, lest he spend the rest of his days in misery for having passed up the opportunity. He hoped the chance to tell her before then would present itself, but he wasn’t sure. Best to just let things play out for a bit and see.

At least she was going to the wedding tomorrow. Kristoff loved the idea of spending time with Anna outside of working on her home.

*****

“Shit,” Kristoff muttered, failing for the hundredth time to tie his damn tie correctly. Even with the YouTube video, he could not figure it out, and he lamented the fact that he’d never learned to do it himself the last time his Dad had done it for him. He was a teenager then, but still.

He glanced at his watch. He was completely out of time now. He grumbled, leaving the stupid thing tucked under his collar with the ends swaying side to side against his chest. He grabbed his suit coat and headed for the door. He now had one stop before the Keats place.

The entire drive over he hoped he wouldn’t come across as dumb. Or worse perhaps, low-brow? He had no idea why he thought that way. Maybe it was the way she dressed when she went to work? Or the fact that she drove an expensive Audi? Or maybe it was the way she kept adding things onto the scope of work, and seeming to not care how much it would cost. He wasn’t stupid, he knew she had money, and he hoped that he didn’t come across as _just_ a simple handyman.

He raised his fist to knock on the door, hesitating a second before committing and rapping lightly. She appeared a few seconds later, and Kristoff had to fight his jaw from dropping.

Anna was a vision in black and emerald. The dress was knee length, and flowy, made of a silky material. Her make-up was sultry, but subtle, complimenting her features and not overshadowing them. She smiled and greeted him, but he was at a loss for words. Her eyes turned curious, snapping him out of his stupor.

“Uh, hi, Anna,” he gulped, struggling to speak. “You, look… beautiful.”

“Thank you,” she beamed, “You look very dashing yourself.”

He blinked and looked down, remembering himself. “Except, uh, I don’t suppose you can… um…”

“Help tie your tie?” she said softly.

He brought his eyes back up to hers and there was nothing but compassion in them. No condescension or judgement, just a soft, caring look that made his legs feel like rubber. “Yes, please,” he managed.

“Come in, Kristoff.”

She shut the door when he walked in and appeared in front of him a second later, grabbing at his collar. She popped it up and adjusted the tie so it was longer on one side. Carefully she made the right movements and Kristoff tired to ignore how wonderful it felt when her warm fingers grazed the skin under his chin. 

He tired not to look down with her in such a close proximity, and chose to look at the ceiling instead. It took no time before she was snugging the knot tight against his neck, adjusting it a little before she leaned in and up on her tiptoes to pull his collar back down. She helped him shrug into his coat and squared it off with his collar, adjusting his tie once more, before she stepped back to admire her work.

“There you go,” she said with a smile. “Classic Windsor.”

“Thank you,” Kristoff said, daring to look down at her even though she was still so close.

She regarded him closely for a moment before giving him a sweet smile. “Walk me over?” she asked.

“I would be absolutely delighted to,” he said before he could stop his mouth. 

*****

He couldn’t take his eyes off her. Forget falling in love, he was already there. 

The wedding was beautiful, but there was nothing that compared to Anna’s beauty. She was everything he’d ever been looking for in life. She was smart, kind and compassionate, loving, cheerful, always willing to lend a hand, energetic, _and_ gorgeous.

Not only that, but he had learned that when she had a few drinks in her, she was feisty as hell. He knew it was the drunken part of her persona that was coming to light. He hadn’t known her long enough to see her feisty in the day to day, but he knew now it was there.

The dance had started and Anna was the first one on the floor. It was a gorgeous night for it too. Some dark clouds had crossed the corner of the sky as the ceremony was going on, and Anna had leaned over and whispered that she hoped they would move on so as not to spoil the reception, and they had. The winds were clearly in their favor, and the sides of the reception tent were all open to the gorgeous evening.

Kristoff poked a fork at the remaining dessert on his plate. Anna had eaten her own, and half of his, declaring that chocolate cake was her favorite. He’d obliged her by taking a bite when she offered, but it was too sweet for him. She didn’t even ask when she reached over and grabbed his plate to dig into his, and it made him love her all the more.

She was suddenly in front of him, tugging on his hand to get him to his feet, her intent written all over her goofy smile.

“No way,” he said firmly.

“Yes way! You have to!”

“No, I don’t!”

“Please,” she stuck out her bottom lip and gave him pouty puppy-dog eyes. “For me?”

He knew he was lost to her in that moment. He’d bow to will, whatever it happened to be. She was the person who was finally worth it; the person he would move heaven and earth for just to make happy, and he took to his feet without any further protest. 

As soon as they stepped on the edge of the floor, the song changed to a slow melody. Kristoff knew he would have retreated to his seat without a moment’s hesitation if it was anyone else. But it was Anna, and he knew that she wanted to dance. He offered his hand with a bow, and she placed her hand in his with a tiny giggle. 

Although he never practiced it, he was taught how to dance by his father, who insisted it was something that was going to come in handy someday, and dammed it he wasn’t right. Anna leaned in close to him, following his lead in the simple waltz, her breath so close against him that he could swear he felt it through his shirt.

He wanted to look at her, but she was so much shorter that every glance down gave him a view of the top of her head. He didn’t know why, but that brought a smile to his face. He wanted to lean his cheek against the apex of her height. It seemed like the perfect fit. 

She suddenly pulled from his grasp and leaned back to look up at him, looking suddenly serious and playful all at the same time. 

“I really like dancing with you Kristoff.”

She blinked then, slowly, intently, and resumed her gaze up at him through her eyelashes. It was seductive as hell, and he decided to throw caution to the wind. 

“I really like dancing with you too Anna. I like it when you are in my arms. It feels right.”

Her furious blush, and the fact that he now understood she must fancy him as well, delighted him in a way he did not expect. He leaned his face closer to hers. “I’d really like to kiss you, Anna.”

“I’d like that too,” she said, eyes shimmering with anticipation.

He pressed his lips to hers, gently, still making sure that it was what she wanted, and the way she kissed him back told him everything he ever needed to know.

They stopped it before they made fools of themselves, but the rest of the dance Anna had her cheek planted against Kristoff’s chest, and he tired his best to reign in his emotions to know that Anna felt the same way he did. 

When the song ended she kept her firm grip on his hand and lead him out of her neighbor’s yard, to the shared space between their houses and into her own back yard. As soon as the gate was shut she was pushing her lips against his, and he gave in completely to her advances. It was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. Anything else he’d lived through, driven by primal urges and nothing else, paled in comparison to what it was like to kiss someone he loved. It was everything in the world, but it was ending too soon when Anna was pulling away from him.

“Not tonight,” she whispered, looking at her toes. She turned her eyes up to his. “Will you take me on a proper date Kristoff?”

His mind was still foggy from her lips but he understood her completely. “Of course, Anna. I would never expect, to, you know, before, um, uh, I mean, of course we would go out! Of course I want to take you on dates! I hope you don’t think that I would be that kind of-“

He was stopped by her lips, soft and warm and loving against his own, that even though it was a chaste kiss, it still sent him reeling. 

“I know you aren’t,” she said after she pulled back, looking up at him. “I’m trying to reel myself in here.”

That was the feistiness he knew was in her, and he kissed her again, quick like she had, to show her that he understood. “You aren’t the only one that needs to reel themselves in.”

She bit her lip and he watched the contemplation play out on her face before her eyes lit up with an idea. He knew what she was going to say before she said it.

“Wanna go get drunk and dance the night away? You can sleep in the guest bedroom, so you don’t need a cab,” she waggled her eyes for emphasis.

Lost to her whim, forever and always. “Let’s do it.”

*****

Kristoff never made it to the guest bedroom the night of the wedding. Anna had dragged him, as they both staggered, into her own bed, clothes and all. She wrapped herself in his warmth, and they passed out as soon as their heads were on the pillows.

They were too hung over to do much on Sunday besides cuddle on Anna’s couch and watch movies with the blinds drawn. They both thought it would be a good idea to have their first date on Monday night. Kristoff never realized how much Anna’s house had started to feel like home until he headed back to his own place on Sunday evening, and there was a crushing sense of something missing as soon as he walked into the door.

He knew damn well what he was missing.

For their date, Kristoff had decided to take her to an outdoor amphitheatre to see a play, and then a nice restaurant after for a late dinner. She’d been smiling at him all night, and he felt like he was the luckiest man in the entire world. Their conversation was the most captivating he’d ever had, and he knew that they both felt an immediate connection. It was by far the best night of Kristoff’s entire life, and it wasn’t even over yet.

Two hours later, Kristoff found his lips pressed desperately against the love of his life.

Anna was tugging at the hem of his shirt, pulling it up and sliding her palms onto his chest when he decided it was time to tell her. He pulled back from her lips, waiting until she realized he was putting a stop to something they both knew was heading to the bedroom.

“Anna, I just, have to tell you, first… before…um,” he sighed, running a hand through his hair to collect his thoughts. 

“What is it Kristoff?” she asked, leaning in closer and placing a comforting hand on his thigh. “You can tell me anything.”

“I know that Anna. That’s kind of what I’m trying to say. I’ve never really had anyone before who I could confide in, until you. I know I can tell you things, and open up to you, and that I can trust you. And, well, I uh, hope that you feel you can trust me as well.”

“I do,” she smiled softly.

“I haven’t felt this way about anyone Anna. Ever. Not even a little bit. When I’m with you, it’s like everything in my life is okay. It’s like everything is finally… _right_. I feel like you’re this missing piece of my puzzle that was finally found to complete the picture. I _know_ that I am a happier man with you in my life.”

“Oh Kristoff,” Anna’s eyes glassed over.

“I… I, love you, Anna.”

“I love you too,” she smiled, a single tear escaping from her eye.

Kristoff cupped her face in his palm and used this thumb to wipe the tear from her cheek. “Don’t cry,” he whispered.

“Happy tears,” she whispered back. “I feel the same way about you Kristoff. The exact same way.”

Kristoff pulled her against his chest, hugging her tight as her arms wrapped around his middle. They stayed that way for a while basking in the moment, until Anna pushed from his arms to look at him.

“Will you make love to me, Kristoff?”

“Yes,” he breathed, and claimed her waiting lips with his own.

**Author's Note:**

> written for @lukin08 on tumblr


End file.
